393 (3.09 per match) A total of 74 teams signed up to participate in the 1966 World Cup qualification rounds setting a new record number of entries for the qualifying tournament. England , as the hosts, and Brazil , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition. The qualifying process continued to be very unclear and matter of disagreement for participants. Sixteen African nations boycotted the tournament because they did not accept the FIFA rule that required the three second-round winners from the African zone to enter a playoff round against the winners of the Asian zone in order to win a place at the finals. African nations believed that winning their zone should have been enough to go straight through to the finals. On the other hand, two very important European teams, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia who were runners-up four years earlier failed to qualify. The 14 available spots were distributed in continental zones as shown below: • Europe (UEFA): 10 spots. 34 teams (including Israel and Syria) competed for 9 direct places. England , as the hosts, qualified directly. Syria, Malta and Iceland withdrew. • South America (CONMEBOL): 4 spots.

9 teams competed for 3 direct places. Brazil , as defending champion, qualified automatically. • North America, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 1 place. 10 teams competed for only 1 place. Guatemala withdrew since the entry was not accepted by FIFA. • Asia (AFC) and AFRICA (CAF): 1 place. 19 teams (including Australia from Oceania) competed for 1 place. African teams withdrew (15). South Africa: banned. A total of 51 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 127 qualifying matches were played, and 393 goals were scored (an average of 3.09 per match). The teams that qualified for the World Cup were: External link: RSSSF 1966 FIFA World Cup Qualification Format and seedings The format of the 1966 competition remained the same as 1962 . The sixteen teams were divided in four groups of four teams with the top two advancing to the quarter-finals. Each group played a round-robin format.

If the top two from each group were equal in points or the second and third teams were equals on points, then goal average would be used to separate any teams equal on points. In the knockout stage, if a match was tied after ninety minutes, then thirty minutes of extra time would be added. If the score was still tied after extra time, then lots would be drawn to determine the winner. This rule would apply to all parties in the knockout stage, except for the final match. The final would have been replayed if tied after extra time. In this World Cup ,replays or drawing of lots were not necessary. The teams were divided for purposes of the draw into four groups according to geographic basis. Each of the four groups would contain one team from South America ( Brazil , Argentina , Chile , and Uruguay ), one from Europe ( England , Hungary, Soviet Union, and West Germany ), one from Latin Europe ( France , Portugal , Spain , and Italy ), and one from rest of the World (Bulgaria, Korea DPR, Mexico , and Switzerland). England , West Germany, Brazil and Italy were the seeded teams.

Squads For a complete list of all squads that appeared in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, please, visit: 1966 World Cup squads Venues Eight venues were chosen to host the tournament. The host cities for the 1966 FIFA World Cup were London , Manchester , Birmingham , Liverpool , Sheffield , Sunderland , and Middlesbrough . 1 TOURNAMENT SUMMARY The first round had some facts worth noting. The English hosts had no problems winning Group A ahead of Uruguay and progressed to the quarterfinal stage, while in Group B, West Germany and Argentina with five points each advanced to the quarter-finals. One of the most unpredictable results of the tournament occurred in Group C. Portugal and Hungary advanced to the knock-out stage while the pre-tournament favourite and defending champions Brazil had to go home very early. Brazil won the first game but lost the next two and that was enough to go home early in the tournament. This was undoubtedly one of the worst performance of Brazil in any World Cup. On the other hand, Pele and Garrincha became the first players to find the net in three successive FIFA World Cups, when scoring against Bulgaria in the opening match at Goodison Park.

The superstar Pele was injured after being hacked mercilessly by the Bulgarians, and he missed the second game against Hungary. The sight of him stricken, covered in a blanket on the touchline, remains one of that enduring images of the World Cups. Pele was brought back for the last crucial match against Portugal , but he was brutally fouled again. From the start, every time Pele touched the ball, he was put down by a Portuguese. Pele escaped some fouls, but was violently fouled by João Morais and hat to be carried out of the field. It is worth remembering that substitutes were not allowed at that time. George McCabe, the English referee, failed to send Morais from the field after a double foul on Pelé. McCabe played no further part in the competition following this incident. This terrible mistake of the referee is remembered as one of 10 top World Cup refereeing errors. After this game Pele vowed he would not play again in the World Cup, a decision he would later change. Portugal , on the other hand, appeared in the finals for the first time.

The amazing striker Eusébio from Portugal , a superstar in Benfica and the 1965 European footballer of the year, scored three goals in this stage, making him one of the tournament's top scorers. Another big upset occurred in group D. Soviet Union and the surprising Korea DPR topped this group and progressed to the quarter-finals at the expense of Chile and the two-time World Cup champions Italy . North Korea defeated Italy 1-0 at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough and advanced to the next stage. Pak Doo Ik became the most famous player in the world when scored the goal against Italy . This was the first time that a nation from outside Europe or the Americas had progressed from the first stage of a World Cup. Eusebio from Portugal in action against Hungary Quarter-final: Portugal vs North Korea In the quarterfinals there were at least two games with great controversy and one with a surprising result.

Germany defeated Uruguay 4-0, but The Uruguayans claimed that this occurred only after a clear penalty that the referee Jim Finney from England did not grant -a hand stop by Schnellinger on the goal line- when the game was 0-0 and besides sent off two Uruguayan players to claim. Argentina and England staged another very intense, passionate and controversial match. England beat Argentina 1-0 with a solo goal of Geoff Hurst almost at the end of the game. This game was called “the robbery of the century” in Argentina. The German referee Kreitlein sent off the Argentina captain Antonio Rattín for “violence of the tongue” in the first half, who refused to leave the field and eventually had to be escorted by several policemen. Kreitlein later argued that he had taken the decision, since he “didn’t like how he [Rattín] was looking at me.” After the game, England manager Alf Ramsey stopped his players swapping shirts with the Argentinians whom he described as animals. “We don't swap shirts with animals”, was Sir Alf Ramsey's contribution to British-Argentinian relationships.

Meanwhile, in the other two games, the Soviets beat Hungary 2-1 and Portugal , in an extremely interesting game, advanced to semi-finals at the expense of North Korea. Despite going by an astonishing 3-0 up after 22 minutes, the Koreans were beaten 5-3 by Portugal and the unstoppable Eusébio, who scored a poker in just over half an hour. The Black Pearl as he was dubbed, using a combination of skill, power and speed, would be the golden shoe of the tournament. The Portuguese produced a stunning fightback to lead Portugal to a 5-3 victory and win one of the most exciting game in World Cups history. All semi-finalists were from Europe as occurred in 1934. England continued their winning streak towards the final as they beat Portugal 2-1 with Bobby Charlton scoring both goals, while West Germany , in the other semi-final, defeated Soviet Union 2-1. The third place match saw the victory of Portugal over Soviet Union 2-1. This was the best finish by a team making its World Cup debut since 1934.

The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was contested at the legendary Wembley Stadium in London, in front of 98,000 delirious fans and millions more watching on television, for the host, England , with their stars Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton, and West Germany , with the elegant style of Franz Beckenbauer. England , the country that invented football, beat West Germany 4-2 after extra-time in one of the most exciting and controversial of all World Cup Finals, winning for the first and, so far, only time the World Cup, and becoming the third host to win the tournament. Geoff Hurst became the hero of England after completing a hat-trick in the final, with two goals in extra time. Hurst remains the only man to have scored three goals in a World Cup final. On the other hand, the doubts on the legitimacy of Hurst's second goal remains to this day. TV replays failed to prove if the ball had crossed the line. A British record 32 million viewers watched on television the final, and another 30 million people were watching around the world, a television audience record.

Bobby Moore from England in action against Argentina Pele with a rose at Brazil hotel during England 1966 First Round - Group 1 Poker: Eusébio ( Portugal ). • The youngest player was Tostão from Brazil : 19y (25 January 1947). The youngest goalkeeper was Lee Chang-Myung from Korea DPR: 19y (2 January 1947). The youngest scorer was Tostão from Brazil : 19y (25 January 1947). The youngest champion was Alan Ball from England : 21y (12 May 1945). The youngest captain was Gustavo Peña from Mexico : 23y (29 November 1942). The youngest finalist as well as medalist was Franz Beckenbauer from West Germany : 20y (11 September 1945). The youngest coach was Myung Rye-Hyun from Korea DPR: 40y (14 April 1926). • The oldest player was Djalma Santos from Brazil : 37y (27 February 1929).

The oldest goalkeeper was Antonio Carbajal from Mexico : 37y (7 June 1929). The oldest scorer was Garrincha from Brazil : 32y (28 October 1933). The oldest champion as well as finalist was Ray Wilson from England : 31y (17 December 1934). The oldest medalist was José Pereira from Portugal : 34y (15 September 1931). The oldest captain was Lev Yashin from Soviet Union: 36y (22 October 1929). The oldest coach was Vicente Feola from Brazil : 56y (20 November 1909). Teams that contributed players for national teams The most important teams that contributed players to the national teams are shown in the table below. The complete list is available at: Teams-Countries-Players-1966 CONTROVERSIES • Sixteen African nations boycotted the tournament because they did not accept the FIFA rule that required the three second-round winners from the African zone to enter a playoff round against the winners of the Asian zone in order to win a place at the finals.

African nations believed that winning their zone should have been enough to go straight through to the finals. • The final match between West Germany and England was a very controversial game. The Germans are still debating whether England 's first goal in extra time crossed the line or not. TV replays failed to prove if the ball had crossed the line. On the other hand, João Havelange, the ex-FIFA President also claimed that the 1966 and 1974 World Cups were fixed so that England and Germany would win respectively. Havelange told Folha de Sao Paulo that "In the three matches that the Brazilian national team played in 1966, of the three referees and six linesmen, seven were British and two were Germans". On the other hand, it is good to remember that in quarter-finals the referee of the game between England and Argentina was from West Germany , and the referee of the game between West Germany and Uruguay was from England . Havelange's words were published in various newspapers around the world. DID YOU KNOW? • The Jules Rimet trophy was stolen during a public stamp exhibition at Westminster Central Hall just three month before kick-off in the tournament.

The trophy was found seven days later wrapped in newspaper in South London, by Pickles, a black and white mongrel dog, while taking a walk with his owner. When England won the trophy, Pickles was invited, as a reward, to the celebration banquet. • The opening match between England and Uruguay was delayed because several of the England players left their ID cards at the team hotel. A police motorcyclist was sent to collect them. Credit: ESPN • The match between Uruguay and France was played at London's White City, not a traditional football venue, because there was greyhound racing scheduled for Wembley and the owners refused to cancel it. Credit: ESPN • North Korea caused the biggest upset of the tournament when beat Italy 1 to 0, at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough. Pak Doo Ik became the most famous player in the world when scored the goal against Italy . This victory is ranked as one of the biggest shocks in the World Cups history. Italy , on the other hand, was eliminated in the group stage. North Korea, which had a lot of trouble coming to England because they did not have diplomatic relations with the UK, got into the hearts of the people of Middlesborough.

When North Koreans had to move to Liverpool for the crucial game against Portugal and Eusébio, 3,000 fans from Middlesborough followed the North Korean team. • Antonio Rattín, the captain of Argentina , became the first player to be sent off in a senior international football match at Wembley Stadium for violence of the tongue. It must be said that the German referee Rudolf Kreitlein spoke no Spanish. Rattín was so angered by what he considered an unfair decision that he initially refused to leave the field and then he sat on the red carpet which was exclusively for the Queen to walk on to show his disgust. The game was referred to in Argentina as the theft of the century, since England won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Geoff Hurst, reclaimed by the Argentines as a clear offside. After the match, the England coach Alf Ramsey refused his players to exchange shirts with the Argentineans whom he described as animals in the press. Argentina's response was immediate; one Argentine newspaper published a picture of the official World Cup mascot, the lion Willie, dressed in pirate regalia to show their opinion of the England team.

This was one of several incidents between the English and the Argentine teams and their sets of fans. Fans dance in the fountains at Trafalgar Square at 1am in 1966, after England ’s World Cup victory A North Korea player signs an autograph at Lime Street Station in Liverpool Portugal 's Eusebio takes breakfast in bed Last updated: 8 February 2016 Copyright © 2012-2016 THEFIFAWORLDCUPS . All rights reserved. This is an unofficial website no connected or associated in any way with FIFA. 1966 FIFA World Cup - iSnare Free Encyclopedia 1966 FIFA World Cup 1966 FIFA World Cup official logo Tournament details 11–30 July (20 days) Teams 8 (in 7 host cities) Final positions 1970 → The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup , was held in England from 11 to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final , winning the Jules Rimet Trophy .

With this victory, England won their first FIFA World Cup title and became the third World Cup host to win the tournament after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934 . The 1966 Final, held at Wembley Stadium , [1] was the last to be broadcast in black and white. [2] The tournament held a 28-year FIFA record for the largest average attendance until it was surpassed by the United States in 1994 . Contents England was chosen as host of the 1966 World Cup in Rome, Italy on 22 August 1960, over rival bids from West Germany and Spain. Qualification Main article: 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification Despite the Africans' absence, there was another new record number of entries for the qualifying tournament, with 70 nations taking part. After all the arguments, FIFA finally ruled that ten teams from Europe would qualify, along with four from South America, one from Asia and one from North and Central America. Portugal and North Korea qualified for the first time. Portugal would not qualify again until 1986, while North Korea's next appearance was at the 2010 tournament.

This was also Switzerland's last World Cup finals until 1994. Notable absentees from this tournament included 1962 semi-finalists Yugoslavia and 1962 finalists Czechoslovakia. African boycott African countries boycotting the 1966 FIFA World Cup are shaded black Sixteen African nations boycotted the tournament in protest at a 1964 FIFA ruling that required the three second-round winners from the African zone to enter a play-off round against the winners of the Asian zone in order to win a place at the finals. The Africans felt that winning their zone was enough in itself to merit qualification for the finals. They also protested against the readmission of South Africa to FIFA in 1963, despite its expulsion from CAF due to the apartheid regime . South Africa was subsequently assigned to Asia and Oceania qualifying group, before being suspended again under pressure from other African nations in October, 1964. Despite this, all African teams decided anyway to pull out of World Cup until at least one African team had a place assured in the World Cup, something which was put in place for the 1970 FIFA World Cup and all subsequent World Cup finals.

[3] Format The format of the 1966 competition remained the same as 1962 : 16 qualified teams were divided into four groups of four. Each group played a round-robin format. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw, with goal average used to separate teams equal on points. The top two teams in each group advanced to the knockout stage. In the knockout games, if the teams were tied after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time were played. For any match other than the final, if the teams were still tied after extra time, lots would be drawn to determine the winner. The final would have been replayed if tied after extra time. In the event, no replays or drawing of lots was necessary. Summary Qualification for 1966 FIFA World Cup FIFA members qualified for World Cup (including colonies as of 1966) FIFA members that failed to qualify FIFA members that did not enter World Cup Countries not members of FIFA in 1966 The 1966 World Cup had a rather unusual hero off the field, a dog called Pickles .

In the build-up to the tournament, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from an exhibition display. A nationwide hunt for the icon ensued. It was later discovered wrapped in newspaper as the dog sniffed under some bushes in London. The FA commissioned a replica cup in case the original cup was not found in time. This replica is held at the English National Football Museum in Manchester, where it is on display. [4] The draw for the final tournament, taking place on 6 January 1966 at the Royal Garden Hotel in London was the first ever to be televised, with England, West Germany, Brazil and Italy as seeds. [5] First round 1966 was a World Cup with few goals as the teams began to play much more tactically and defensively. This was exemplified by Alf Ramsey's England as they finished top of Group 1 with only four goals, but having none scored against them. They also became the first World Cup winning team not to win its first game in the tournament. Uruguay were the other team to qualify from that group at the expense of both Mexico and France .

All the group's matches were played at Wembley Stadium apart from the match between Uruguay and France which took place at White City Stadium . In Group 2, West Germany and Argentina qualified with ease as they both finished the group with 5 points, Spain managed 2, while Switzerland left the competition after losing all three group matches. FIFA cautioned Argentina for its violent style in the group games, particularly in the scoreless draw with West Germany, which saw Argentinean Rafael Albrecht get sent off and suspended for the next match. [6] [7] In the northwest of England, Old Trafford and Goodison Park played host to Group 3 which saw the two-time defending champions Brazil finish in third place behind Portugal and Hungary , and be eliminated along with Bulgaria . Brazil were defeated 3–1 by Hungary in a classic encounter before falling by the same scoreline to Portugal in a controversial game; this was Brazil's worst performance in any World Cup. Portugal appeared in the finals for the first time, and made quite an impact. They won all three of their games in the group stage, with a lot of help from their outstanding striker Eusébio , whose nine goals made him the tournament's top scorer.

Group 4, however, provided the biggest upset when North Korea beat Italy 1–0 at Ayresome Park , Middlesbrough and finished above them, thus earning qualification to the next round along with the Soviet Union . This was the first time that a nation from outside Europe or the Americas had progressed from the first stage of a World Cup: the next would be Morocco in 1986. Quarter-finals, semi-finals, and third-place match Results of 1966 FIFA World Cup Champion Runner-up 3rd place 4th place 1/4-finals Group stage The quarter-finals provided a controversial victory for West Germany as they cruised past Uruguay 4–0; the South Americans claimed that this occurred only after the referee (who was Jim Finney , from England) had not recognised a handball by Schnellinger on the goal line and then had sent off two players from Uruguay: Horacio Troche and Héctor Silva . [8] It appeared as though the surprise package North Korea would claim another major upset in their match against Portugal when after 22 minutes they led 3–0. It fell to one of the greatest stars of the tournament, Eusébio , to change that.

He scored four goals in the game and José Augusto added a fifth in the 78th minute to earn Portugal a 5–3 win. Meanwhile, in the other two games, Ferenc Bene 's late goal for Hungary against the Soviet Union, who were led by Lev Yashin 's stellar goalkeeping, proved little more than a consolation as they crashed out 2–1, and the only goal between Argentina and England came courtesy of England's Geoff Hurst . During that controversial game (for more details see Argentina and England football rivalry ), Argentina's Antonio Rattín became the first player to be sent off in a senior international football match at Wembley. [9] Rattín at first refused to leave the field and eventually had to be escorted by several policemen. After 30 minutes England scored the only goal of the match. This game is called el robo del siglo (the robbery of the century) in Argentina. [10] Eusébio finished as the tournament's top scorer, and also featured in the all-star team All semi-finalists were from Europe.

The venue of the first semi-final between England and Portugal was changed from Goodison Park in Liverpool to Wembley, due to Wembley's larger capacity. This larger capacity was particularly significant during a time when ticket revenue was of crucial importance. [11] Bobby Charlton scored both goals in England's win, with Portugal's goal coming from a penalty in the 82nd minute after a handball by Jack Charlton on the goal line. [12] [13] The other semi-final also finished 2–1: Franz Beckenbauer scoring the winning goal with a left foot shot from the edge of the area for West Germany as they beat the Soviet Union. [14] Portugal went on to beat the Soviet Union 2–1 to take third place. Portugal's third place remains the best finish by a team making its World Cup debut since 1934. It was subsequently equalled by Croatia in the 1998 tournament. Final Main article: 1966 FIFA World Cup Final London's Wembley Stadium was the venue for the final, and 98,000 people attended.

After 12 minutes 32 seconds Helmut Haller put West Germany ahead, but the score was levelled by Geoff Hurst four minutes later. Martin Peters put England in the lead in the 78th minute; England looked set to claim the title when the referee awarded a free kick to West Germany with one minute left. The ball was launched goalward and Wolfgang Weber scored, with England appealing in vain for handball as the ball came through the crowded penalty area. [15] With the score level at 2–2 at the end of 90 minutes, the game went to extra time . In the 98th minute, Hurst found himself on the scoresheet again; his shot hit the crossbar, bounced down onto the goal line, and was awarded as a goal. Debate has long raged over whether the ball crossed the line, with the goal becoming part of World Cup history; Ian Reid and Andrew Zisserman claim to prove that the ball did not cross the line. [16] England's final goal was scored by Hurst again, as a celebratory pitch invasion began. This made Geoff Hurst the only player ever to have scored three times in a World Cup final.

[15] BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme 's description of the match's closing moments has gone down in history: "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over ... [Hurst scores] It is now!". [17] England's total of eleven goals scored in six games set a new record low for average goals per game scored by a World Cup winning team. The record stood until 1982, when it was surpassed by Italy's twelve goals in seven games; in 2010 this record was lowered again by Spain, winning the Cup with eight goals in seven games. England's total of three goals conceded also constituted a record low for average goals per game conceded by a World Cup winning team. That record stood until 1994, when it was surpassed by Brazil's three goals in seven games. Spain again lowered the record to two goals by conceding them during the group stage and then shutting out its four knockout stage opponents by 1–0 scores. England received the recovered Jules Rimet trophy from Elizabeth II and were crowned World Cup winners for the first time. [15] In this World Cup edition, the national anthems were played only in the final.

They were not played in the earlier matches because the organisers (Fifa and the FA) feared that North Korea's presence - a socialist country that is not recognized by United Kingdom - in the World Cup would cause problems with South Korea. An office memo of the Foreign Office months before the finals stated that the solution would be "denying the visas to North Korean players". [18] Mascot World Cup Willie , the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the first World Cup mascot, and one of the first mascots to be associated with a major sporting competition. World Cup Willie is a lion , a typical symbol of the United Kingdom, wearing a Union Flag jersey emblazoned with the words "WORLD CUP". Venues Eight venues were used for this World Cup. The youngest and biggest venue used was Wembley Stadium in west London, which was 43 years old in 1966. As was often the case in the World Cup, groups played in two venues in close proximity to each other.

Group 1's matches (which included the hosts) were all played in London: five at Wembley, which was England's national stadium and was considered to be the most important football venue in the world; and one at White City Stadium in west London, which was used as a temporary replacement for nearby Wembley. The Uruguay-France group stage game played at White City Stadium (originally built for the 1908 Summer Olympics ) was scheduled for a Friday, the same day as regularly scheduled greyhound racing at Wembley . Because Wembley's owner refused to cancel this, the game had to be moved to the alternative venue in London. Group 2's matches were played at Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 's Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield and Aston Villa 's Villa Park in Birmingham, Group 3's matches were played at Manchester United 's Old Trafford stadium in Manchester and Everton F.C. 's Goodison Park in Liverpool; and Group 4's matches were played at Middlesbrough F.C. 's Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough and Sunderland A.F.C.'s Roker Park in Sunderland; both located in northern England.

The most used venue was Wembley, which was used for nine matches, including all of England's six matches, the final and the third place match. Goodison Park was used for five matches; Roker Park and Hillsborough both hosted four matches. Old Trafford, Villa Park and Ayresome Park each hosted 3 matches and did not host any knockout round matches. 1966 FIFA World Cup | Football Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia 1966 FIFA World Cup 1966 FIFA World Cup official logo Tournament details 1970 → The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup , was held in England from 11 to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final , winning the World Cup. With this victory, England won their first FIFA World Cup title and became the third World Cup host to win the tournament after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934 . The 1966 Final, held at Wembley Stadium , was the last to be broadcast in black and white.

The tournament held a 28-year FIFA record for the largest average attendance until it was surpassed by the United States in 1994 . Contents [ show ] Host selection England was chosen as host of the 1966 World Cup in Rome, Italy on 22 August 1960, over opposition from West Germany and Spain. Qualification Main article: 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification Sixteen African nations boycotted the tournament in protest of a 1964 FIFA ruling that required the three second-round winners from the African zone to enter a play-off round against the winners of the Asian zone in order to win a place at the finals. The Africans felt that winning their zone was enough in itself to merit qualification for the finals. Despite the Africans' absence, there was another new record number of entries for the qualifying tournament, with 70 nations taking part. After all the arguments, FIFA finally ruled that ten teams from Europe would qualify, along with four from South America, one from Asia and one from North and Central America. Portugal and North Korea qualified for the first time.

Portugal would not qualify again until 1986, while North Korea's next appearance was at the 2010 tournament. This was also Switzerland's last World Cup finals until 1994. Notable absentees from this tournament included 1962 semi-finalists Yugoslavia and 1962 finalists Czechoslovakia. Format The format of the 1966 competition remained the same as 1962 : 16 qualified teams were divided into four groups of four. Each group played a round-robin format. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw, with goal average used to separate teams equal on points. The top two teams in each group advanced to the knockout stage. In the knockout games, if the teams were tied after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time were played. For any match other than the final, if the teams were still tied after extra time, lots would be drawn to determine the winner. The final would have been replayed if tied after extra time. In the event, no replays or drawing of lots was necessary.

Summary The 1966 World Cup had a rather unusual hero off the field, a dog called Pickles. In the build-up to the tournament, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from an exhibition display. A nationwide hunt for the icon ensued. It was later discovered wrapped in newspaper as the dog sniffed under some bushes in London. The FA commissioned a replica cup in case the original cup was not found in time. This replica is held at the English National Football Museum in Manchester, where it is on display. The draw for the final tournament, taking place on 6 January 1966 at the Royal Garden Hotel in London was the first ever to be televised, with England, West Germany, Brazil and Italy as seeds. First round 1966 was a World Cup with few goals as the teams began to play much more tactically and defensively. This was exemplified by Alf Ramsey 's England as they finished top of Group 1 with only four goals to their credit, but having none scored against them. They also became the first World Cup winning team not to win its first game in the tournament. Uruguay were the other team to qualify from that group at the expense of both Mexico and France .

All the group's matches were played at Wembley Stadium apart from the match between Uruguay and France which took place at White City Stadium . In Group 2, West Germany and Argentina qualified with ease as they both finished the group with 5 points, Spain managed 2, while Switzerland left the competition after losing all three group matches. FIFA cautioned Argentina for its violent style in the group games, particularly in the scoreless draw with West Germany, which saw Argentinean Rafael Albrecht get sent off and suspended for the next match. In the northwest of England, Old Trafford and Goodison Park played host to Group 3 which saw the two-time defending champions Brazil finish in third place behind Portugal and Hungary , and be eliminated along with Bulgaria . Brazil were defeated 3–1 by Hungary in a classic encounter before falling by the same scoreline to Portugal in a controversial game; this was Brazil's worst performance in any World Cup. Portugal appeared in the finals for the first time, and made quite an impact. They won all three of their games in the group stage, with a lot of help from their outstanding striker Eusébio , whose nine goals made him the tournament's top scorer.

Group 4, however, provided the biggest upset when North Korea beat Italy 1–0 at Ayresome Park , Middlesbrough and finished above them, thus earning qualification to the next round along with the Soviet Union . This was the first time that a nation from outside Europe or the Americas had progressed from the first stage of a World Cup: the next would be Morocco in 1986. Quarter-finals, semi-finals, and third-place match The quarter-finals provided a controversial victory for West Germany as they cruised past Uruguay 4–0; the South Americans claimed that this occurred only after the referee (who was Jim Finney , from England) had not recognised a handball by Schnellinger on the goal line and then had sent off two players from Uruguay: Horacio Troche and Héctor Silva . It appeared as though the surprise package North Korea would claim another major upset in their match against Portugal when after 22 minutes they lead 3–0. It fell to one of the greatest stars of the tournament, Eusébio , to change that. He scored four goals in the game and José Augusto added a fifth in the 78th minute to earn Portugal a 5–3 win.

Meanwhile in the other two games, Ferenc Bene 's late goal for Hungary against the Soviet Union, who were led by Lev Yashin 's stellar goalkeeping, proved little more than a consolation as they crashed out 2–1, and the only goal between Argentina and England came courtesy of England's Geoff Hurst . During that controversial game (for more details see Argentina and England football rivalry ), Argentina's Antonio Rattín became the first player to be sent off in a senior international football match at Wembley. Rattín at first refused to leave the field and eventually had to be escorted by several policemen. After 30 minutes England scored the only goal of the match. This game is called el robo del siglo (the robbery of the century) in Argentina. All semi-finalists were from Europe. The venue of the first semi-final between England and Portugal was changed from Goodison Park in Liverpool to Wembley, due to Wembley's larger capacity. This larger capacity was particularly significant during a time when ticket revenue was of crucial importance.

Bobby Charlton scored both goals in England's win, with Portugal's goal coming from a penalty in the 82nd minute after a handball by Jack Charlton on the goal line. The other semi-final also finished 2–1: Franz Beckenbauer scoring the winning goal with a left foot shot from the edge of the area for West Germany as they beat the Soviet Union. Portugal went on to beat the Soviet Union 2–1 to take third place. Portugal's third place remains the best finish by a team making its World Cup debut since 1934. It was subsequently equalled by Croatia in the 1998 tournament. Final Main article: 1966 FIFA World Cup Final London's Wembley Stadium was the venue for the final, and 98,000 people attended. After 12 minutes 32 seconds Helmut Haller put West Germany ahead, but the score was levelled by Geoff Hurst four minutes later. Martin Peters put England in the lead in the 78th minute; England looked set to claim the title when the referee awarded a free kick to West Germany with one minute left.

The ball was launched goalward and Wolfgang Weber scored, with England appealing in vain for handball as the ball came through the crowded penalty area. With the score level at 2–2 at the end of 90 minutes, the game went to extra time. In the 98th minute, Hurst found himself on the scoresheet again; his shot hit the crossbar, bounced down onto the goal line, and was awarded as a goal. Debate has long raged over whether the ball crossed the line, with the goal becoming part of World Cup history; Ian Reid and Andrew Zisserman claim to prove that the ball did not cross the line. England's final goal was scored by Hurst again, as a celebratory pitch invasion began. This made Geoff Hurst the only player ever to have scored three times in a World Cup final. BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme's description of the match's closing moments has gone down in history: "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over ... [Hurst scores] It is now!". England's total of eleven goals scored in six games set a new record low for average goals per game scored by a World Cup winning team.

The record stood until 1982, when it was surpassed by Italy's twelve goals in seven games; in 2010 this record was lowered again by Spain, winning the Cup with eight goals in seven games. England's total of three goals conceded also constituted a record low for average goals per game conceded by a World Cup winning team. That record stood until 1994, when it was surpassed by Brazil's three goals in seven games. Spain again lowered the record to two goals by conceding them during the group stage and then shutting out its four knockout stage opponents by 1–0 scores. England received the recovered Jules Rimet trophy from Elizabeth II and were crowned World Cup winners for the first time. In this World Cup edition, although had the ceremony with the military bands during the players entrance to the pitch, the national anthems were not played. This was because England feared that North Korea's presence - a socialist country that is not recognized by United Kingdom - in the World Cup would cause problems with South Korea. An office memo of the Foreign Office months before the finals stated that the solution would be "denying the visas to North Korean players".

Mascot World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the first World Cup mascot, and one of the first mascots to be associated with a major sporting competition. World Cup Willie is a lion, a typical symbol of the United Kingdom, wearing a Union Flag jersey emblazoned with the words "WORLD CUP". Venues White City Stadium in London was used for a single game from Group 1, between Uruguay and France. The game was scheduled for a Friday, the same day as regularly scheduled greyhound racing at Wembley . Because Wembley's owner refused to cancel this, the game had to be moved to the alternative venue.

Sunderland 1966 World Cup History - SuperSport - Football seconds 1966 World Cup History 1930 | 1934 | 1938 | 1950 | 1954 | 1958 | 1962 | 1966 | 1970 | 1974 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 With the United States ever more involved in the conflict with Vietnam, football returned to the country that invented the game 103 years earlier -- England. Brazil and Italy were the two big name casualties in the group stages. An ageing Brazil side lost to Eusebio-inspired Portugal 3-1 while Italy suffered the shock result of the tournament when they crashed 1-0 to North Korea, Pak Doo Ik becoming a household name in England by scoring the only goal. England advanced in solid if unspectacular style to the semi-finals, where they faced Eusebio and co.

Two brilliant efforts by Bobby Charlton put paid to the Portuguese at Wembley. West Germany, coaxed by new find Franz Beckenbauer, defeated the Soviet Union at Goodison Park to take their place at the home of football for the final. Helmut Haller put the Germans ahead but Geoff Hurst equalised before half-time. Martin Peters looked to have clinched the cup for the hosts until Wolfgang Weber snatched a dramatic late equaliser to force extra time in a final for only the second time in history. Hurst scored twice in the additional period to become the first player to score a World Cup final hat-trick. His second goal was highly controversial, bouncing down off the crossbar and, according to the linesman, over the line. 1966 WORLD CUP LEGENDS England: b. 1941, d. 1993 Probably the finest defender to have ever played for England. Elegant central defender-cum-sweeper, a master of anticipation with a well-timed tackle and an accurate pass. As England's captain in their 1966 World Cup triumph at Wembley, his pass from deep set up Geoff Hurst for the clinching goal in extra-time.

Voted player of the tournament. Legendary Scottish manager Jock Stein once said of Moore: "There ought to be a law against him. He know's what's happening 20 minutes before everybody else." Won 108 caps for his country, the most by any England outfield player, and helped West Ham to FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup glory. Moore was respected throughout the world and won the personal admiration of Pele after an outstanding duel in the 1970 World Cup finals in Mexico. Tributes from all around the world poured in after his death in 1993 from cancer, and West Ham named their new stand after him. Geoff HURST England: b. 1941 The only man ever to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. Like so many World Cup heroes, target-man Hurst wasn't first-choice when the tournament began. Hurst had been nurtured by Ron Greenwood at West Ham, whose side included internationals Martin Peters and the incomparable Bobby Moore, Tottenham's Jimmy Greaves was coach Alf Ramsey's preferred option. When Greaves was injured early in the tournament, Hurst grabbed his chance and wrote himself into World Cup legend.

His hat-trick in the 4-2 win against West Germany included a header, a right-foot shot and a left-foot shot. The second goal, which made it 3-2, remains one of the great controversial moments in World Cup history. Hurst's shot bounced off the crossbar and, according to the Azerbaijani linesman, over the line. The final was only Hurst's eighth international appearance, and he went on to collect 49 caps in total, scoring 24 goals. EUSEBIO da Silva Ferreia Portugal: b. 1942 Explosive Mozambique-born striker nicknamed "the Black Panther" who had a thunderous right-foot shot and electric pace allied to tremendous athletic ability. Finished top scorer in the 1966 World Cup finals with nine goals, including four to rescue Portugal against North Korea after they had trailed 3-0. Tormented Brazil as Portugal beat the world champions 3-1, memorably reprimanding his team-mate Morais for a dreadful foul on Pele. His blinding skill earned him another nickname -- "the European Pele".

He was left in tears after Bobby Charlton's two brilliant goals knocked the Portuguese out of the semifinals in England. Won the prestigious European Footballer of the Year award in 1965, and finished Portugal's leading scorer for an amazing nine consecutive seasons with Benfica. 1966 WORLD CUP SCORERS Valeri Porkujan (USSR) 4 1966 WORLD CUP TRIVIA - England, who qualified automatically as hosts, were the only British nation to make it to the finals. - Eight venues were used: Manchester (Old Trafford), Birmingham (Villa Park), Middlesbrough (Ayresome Park), Sunderland (Roker Park), Liverpool (Goodison Park), London (Wembley and White City) and Sheffield (Hillsborough). - Four months before England won the World Cup they lost it. The solid gold trophy was stolen and a week later a mongrel dog named Pickles discovered a parcel under a bush in south London. It turned out to be the World Cup. - In Group Three Hungary ended Brazil's 13-match unbeaten run with a 3-1 win at Goodison. The injured Pele was badly missed.

- North Korea gained their first World Cup finals point and scored their first goal when Seung Zin struck the equaliser against Chile. - Legendary Mexican goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal waved goodbye to the World Cup after the 0-0 draw with Uruguay at Wembley. At 37-years-old, he was competing in his fifth World Cup. - In Group Four came the shock result of the tournament when North Korea beat mighty Italy 1-0. Pak Doo Ik became a household name in Britain after scoring the matchwinner in the first half. Italy were eliminated as the North Koreans became the first Asian team to reach the quarterfinals. - North Korea shook Portugal by scoring in the first minute through Pak Seung Zin. They actually led 3-0 at one stage until Eusebio scored four goals, including two from the spot, to help Portugal to a 5-3 win at Goodison. - Geoff Hurst became the first and so far only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final in the 4-2 defeat of West Germany. He was only playing after Jimmy Greaves suffered an injury earlier in the tournament.

1966 WORLD CUP WINNING SQUAD England Goalkeepers: Gordon Banks, Peter Bonetti, Ron Springett Defenders: Jimmy Armfield, Gerald Byrne, Jack Charlton, George Cohen, Bobby Moore (capt), Ray Wilson Midfielders: Alan Ball, Ian Callaghan, Bobby Charlton, George Eastham, Ron Flowers, Norman Hunter, Martin Peters, Nobby Stiles Forwards: John Connelly, Jimmy Greaves, Roger Hunt, Geoff Hurst, Terry Paine. Coach: Alf Ramsey

Question: Besides Wembley which other London venue was used in the 1966 World Cup finals
Answer: White City